Megatall Buildings  

By the year 2020, we will not see a very short structure. High rise buildings are a natural sight in every city in the world now but not all are called supertall or megatall. In this decade, we will witness the completion of buildings over six hundred metre tall (or about two thousand feet). This is twice Eiffel Tower’s height!

We should know the difference between a supertall and megatall building. Supertall refers to buildings with over three hundred metres in height. However, this is no longer adequate to describe buildings with over three hundred metres in height and so the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat officially use the term megatall.

According to the Council, we are now entering the era of megatall. Megatall refers to buildings with over six hundred metres in height. This is twice the height of supertall buildings. Supertall and megatall make infrastructures in the previous barely buildings at all. In two decades time, Petronas Tower of Kuala Lumpur will have gone from 1^st tallest to the 27^th tallest building in the world.

Megatall buildings are either proposals, under construction or built. Here are some megatall buildings that are either proposals, under construction or already built:

• Kingdom Tower: Kingdom Tower in Jeddah will be the world’s first megatall structure with over 1,000 metres of height or about 3, 280 feet. The Tower is considered the tallest of them all although it is still a proposal.
• Burj Khalifa: Burj Al Khalifa in Dubai is the second megatall structure and the first of its kind in the world. It stands proudly with over 828 metres of height or about 2, 717 feet.

• Ping An Finance Centre: Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzen will be the third megatall structure in the world with over 660 metres of height or about 2, 165 feet. To date, the building is still under construction.
• Seoul Light DMC Tower: The Tower boasts of 640 metres of height or about 2, 101 feet. The Seoul Light DMC Tower will be the fourth megatall structure in the world if constructions will start. As of the moment, this is just a proposal.
• Signature Tower: Signature Tower is in Jakarta; it will boast of 638 metres of height or about 2, 093 feet. If it will be constructed and completed, it will be the fifth megatall structure in the world.

We thought that we saw the tallest buildings but we have to wait. Yes, we have tall buildings here in Singapore but nothing compares to the megatall structures. Who knows we will see megatall structures here in Singapore soon.